Swedish photographer, always with a smile

Dog Parkour Week

This week has been Dog Parkour Week for me. I have trained with my own dog, I have started the road to becoming an instructor, and as a part of that, I have trained two other dogs as well.

This is Banjo:

Fun-loving, enthusiastic, meatball-fanatic, and really easy to train.

And this is Yapp:

A bit fearful and suspicious, but slowly starting to warm up to me. A dog with a lot of integrity, and I feel honoured that he is now wagging his tail when he sees me, and allow me to feed him by hand.

And of course, I wanted to take some photos that show the two parkour-dogs!

Banjo was easy.

These photos show (or at least I hope so) the body-control, balance, strength, and self-control that is needed in dog parkour. To be willing to put their paws on different surfaces, and to know where each paw is. (When I train this we use a harness and a leash, to make sure that I can support the dog if he/she put a paw wrong. These poses, however, are really simple for Banjo.)

And Yapp was a bit harder. It was important to me that he is happy, so ears need to be in front, tail high, and posture alert. I wanted to combine that with a portrait, dog parkour-style. This is what I came up with (and I’m really happy with it!):

To put the front paws on something is a basic parkour-move, and the facial expression is absolutely perfect!

Now, I could not have taken these photos without help. A good owner is key when you want to take portraits of other people’s dogs!

Behind the scenes:

A lot of praise, a solid “stay” and a lot of meatballs…

Typical parkour poses to try:

Front paws on something

Standing or sitting on top of something

Back paws on something

Begging pose

Bow down pose

Balancing on something

Just remember to be fair to your dog – train BEFORE you try to photograph. It’s so worth the time to have a well-trained behaviour when you reach for your camera, and it’s FUN!

Wow! There is dog parkour?!?!???!!! I didn’t know this before. The world is an exciting place! There is parkour, there is dog parkour, dog frisbee, cat yoga, cat yodeling… … I can’t wait til I see some dog parkour! Hey if I am alongside a dog in dog parkour, I will quickly realise that the dog is so much better than me! Which would give me an immense inferiority complex! I was parkouring among some people who were literally ten years younger than me, and they were obviously better than me!